u/keratx

From the story:

Visiting Judge Sid Harle from Bexar County ruled in favor of recusing Collin County Judge John Roach Jr. from Karmelo Anthony's appeal of his murder conviction.

Nineteen-year-old Anthony was found guilty of murder for the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a Frisco high school track meet. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Roach enforced strict rules for the courtroom during the trial, including limiting media access and restricting public access to the small number of seats in the courtroom left over once media and family members were seated. He also issued a gag order barring people involved in the trial from posting about it on social media or speaking to the media, citing the intense scrutiny of the trial and its potential impact on its outcome.

Two days after the verdict — during the time period where Anthony could file a motion for a new trial — Roach gave an interview with WFAA about the trial. Anthony's new defense attorney, Russel Wilson, had argued Roach violated judicial conduct rules by giving the interview.

Harle said he believed Roach was attempting to educate the public, an exception to conduct rules, but said it didn't pass the test of a neutral third party's view of his impartiality.

"Under that limited finding, I'm going to grant the recusal," he said.

The Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport scrapped plans Friday to add additional Islamic foot-washing stations after Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to cancel state airport grants, claiming the stations are religious discrimination.

Abbott also asked the U.S. Department of Transportation to investigate DFW and Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Both airports already have existing ablutions stations, which are typically used by Muslims to clean their feet before prayer.

"These ablution facilities appear designed to single out one subset of the population for special treatment based on religion. That is illegal,” Abbott said in a press release. “Both airports are government-owned facilities. The federal and state constitutions prohibit government from facilitating this sort of discrimination."

Dallas Mavericks and the Dallas Stars have resolved their legal dispute and plan to stay at American Airlines Center through the 2030-31 season.

The teams made the announcement in a joint statement on Monday afternoon.

"The Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars have reached an agreement that resolves the outstanding matters between the two organizations," the teams said in the joint statement.

From the story:

Although there aren't any plans or proposals to bring a data center to Bedford, city officials are considering down-the-line possibilities while drafting restrictions.

At their August 11 council meeting, city staff and elected representatives explained that these types of projects aren't anticipated to arrive in Bedford anytime soon, given the lack of available land and zoning permissions.

From the story:

"There exist growing land use concerns over expanding this use throughout Dallas with very little tailored oversight," the council members said in their memo.

The city of Dallas currently categorizes data centers as local utility sub-use of communications exchange facilities. Communications exchange facilities are allowed by right in many non-residential and mixed-use zoning districts.

The five council members say these current regulations fall short of the modern local regulation landscape.

"We are asking staff to research best city planning and development practices in this growth area and recommend how to align our development code accordingly," the council members said in the memo.

From the story:

Community member Alexander Montalvo told KERA News in a phone call he and Carrion were out with other community members Tuesday night before everyone headed home around 2 a.m. Wednesday.

Montalvo and Carrion were talking on the phone when Carrion told him he was being pulled over by Fort Worth Police.

A few minutes later, Montalvo said Carrion called him again and told him he had a warrant out for his arrest from Tarrant County for disrupting a public meeting and was being taken into custody.

Montalvo said a Fort Worth officer confirmed with him that Carrion was pulled over for an alleged traffic violation and discovered he had a warrant issued Monday. The only meeting that occurred before then was commissioners court.

"I think we have seen a much more hostile treatment towards citizens and residents showing up at public government meetings," Montalvo told KERA News. "That hostility definitely has been the strongest within the Tarrant County Commissioners Court."

And that could mean a lower property tax bill for Denton residents.

From the story:

>At a time when data centers face nationwide backlash, Denton seems to be seeing a positive financial impact from them in a $2.22 billion budget proposed for 2026-27.

An increase in Denton’s taxable values, largely from business personal property, has resulted in a proposed property tax rate of $0.548485 per $100 property valuation — a 7.88% decrease from the previous year’s tax rate of $0.595420, in part due to billions in added value that city staff described as a “short-term boost.”

The proposed tax rate would mean a decrease of about $203 on the annual property tax bill for the average home, valued roughly at $383,000.

From KERA:

>It’s a situation Adnan Rajib said needs to be addressed immediately, before it becomes a crisis.

Rajib is an engineer, hydrologist and director of the Hydrology & Hydroinformatics Innovation Lab at UT Arlington who lives in South Arlington. He's seen the erosion in his neighborhood.

While the issues created by erosion are largely unseen by most who live and work in or visit the city, in many cases behind buildings and in backyards, Rajib warned that Arlington needs to address them immediately.

“We are reaching a point of no return where these streams and these creeks no longer exist unless we protect them and restore them,” Rajib said. “There will be severe flooding and erosion in the near future, and the severity is such that even a less than exceptional storm can cause a lot of damage."